LOCAL lad Grant Leadbitter came off the bench to score a priceless winner for the second time in five days as rampant Sunderland nudged closer to promotion.

Leadbitter followed up his winner in Monday's 2-1 win at Southampton with another strike from distance to clinch a fourth successive single-goal win and stretch the unbeaten run to 17 games.

That 76th-minute winner came after Rangers' Martin Rowlands scored a 23rd-minute equaliser from the spot.

Sunderland skipper Dean Whitehead had given the Black Cats a seventh-minute lead.

The win puts the Championship leaders four points ahead of second-placed Derby and five ahead of third-placed Birmingham, who have a game in hand.

Sunderland can clinch their Premiership place next weekend if Derby lose at home to Luton on Friday night and Sunderland win at Colchester.

But Black Cats' boss Roy Keane is content simply to keep churning out the wins that will deem the maths irrelevant.

Keane said: "Whatever happens we are going to try and win next weekend. If we keep doing that things will fall into place.

"This was an important victory. But we had to be patient after conceding a sloppy goal. This is an experienced squad, playing with freedom. We made chances and should have easier."

The Black Cats began with the deadly intent they finished with at St Mary's on Monday. A flowing move let defender Nyron Nosworthy combine with striker David Connolly before an inchperfect pass was threaded into the path of the advancing Whitehead.

Sunderland had Rangers pinned back for long periods, but Daryl Murphy and Ross Wallace were wasteful in possession after getting in to good positions.

Wallace, in particular, was guilty of trying to do too much on the ball and attempting to take on one opponent too many.

The Black Cats paid the price for slack finishing when Rangers equalised on 22 minutes against the run of play.

Dexter Blackstock was brought down by keeper Darren Ward's rash challenge on the right edge of the box.

Rowlands beat Ward from 12 yards, the ball going left and the keeper right.

Keane shoved on a third striker - Stern John - at half time to link up with Murphy and the ineffectual Connolly.

That brought urgency to the home side with Connolly having a 15-yard drive charged down before Stern saw an angled drive flash across the face of goal.

But Sunderland lacked the killer instinct of recent weeks and their ragged passing showed that the enormity of the run-in was starting to affect them.

Just when it looked as if the pressure was getting too much Leadbitter struck with a quite magnificent winner.

Carlos Edwards was hacked down on the right by Paul Furlong, who was booked for it.

Edwards rolled the ball infield for Leadbitter to blast home an unstoppable low drive from 25 yards. Rangers manager John Gregory saluted Sunderland and believes one more home win will guarantee his own side's safety.

Gregory said: "We thought we had done enough. Sunderland looked as if they had run out of ideas. We came close but in the end not close enough.

"It's a Premiership set-up and I think they will make a go of it there next season.